


Moonflower (to be rewritten- again)

by noir_luna



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Flirty Lance, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Hair Braiding, Hair Brushing, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Korean Keith (Voltron), Latino Lance (Voltron), M/M, Memes, Singing, Takes place after season 2, background Sheith - Freeform, flirty lotor, galra language, more like side story Sheith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-09-22 04:31:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9583757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noir_luna/pseuds/noir_luna
Summary: "Don’t swear at me in Galra," Lance glared.The prince smirked, “Oh, it wasn’t an insult. If you were to translate it into your tongue… I suppose the word would be: darling.”Lance’s cheeks flushed. He could flirt without even blinking an eye, but no one had ever directed such remarks towards him. He had no idea what to do. Besides, Lotor was still a possible enemy. No matter how attractive he was, Lance couldn't overlook that... could he?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM REWRITING THIS WHOLE THING AGAIN SO PLEASE DON'T READ IT

“Sire, you’re being summoned.” ([x](http://ashterism.tumblr.com/post/156339894704/has-many-ideas-for-other-voltron-comics-and))

Lotor glanced at the Galra soldier with a practiced look of boredom, pure distaste flooding his eyes. He lounged on his throne lazily, legs crossed and face passive. He’d been waiting far too long for something he wanted no part in. Really, the prince couldn’t have cared less about his father’s war. Yet, here he was, fighting Zarkon’s battles. Typical.

Lotor stood with a slow glide, his movements regal and pronounced. “Well then, show me the way,” he said, bored with these ceremonial gestures already. The soldier nodded, quivering in fear of the prince’s tall stature. Lotor sighed. He was accustomed to all the servants and guards, but he didn’t enjoy their presence at all. After all, he was barely even raised as royalty. Being amongst the Galra Empire now made him feel out of place, like a bastard at a family reunion. Nevertheless, as Zarkon’s heir, it was his duty to take his father’s place.

Sentry footsteps flanked him as he strode across the marble floors. He still couldn’t comprehend why he needed guards by him after all the years of training he'd endured, his teen years filled with memories of military training camps. However, the bodies flanking him _would_ serve as decent shields. Lotor smiled darkly to himself at the joke. They passed by a few patrolling soldiers who all saluted him, only earning his indifference. He didn’t even bother to acknowledge them.

Grand doors slid open before him, displaying the deep purple control room. There were holograms pulled up on every screen, soldiers clambering about, clearly in distress at their lost leader. Lotor glared wearily, clearing his throat before stepping forth, the pronounced click of his heel silencing everyone. They all immediately kneeled with their heads down. Lotor grinned to himself; power felt magnificent sometimes. A few higher ups spoke his title with a bow as he passed, their voices stuttering. He nodded back, slowly making his way to the centre panel where Haggar and the druids stood.

“Prince Lotor, I trust that your journey was safe?” Haggar’s voice rasped.

“Spare me the formalities, Haggar. You summoned me from my time away for a reason. Get to the point, or I assure you, I’ll happily return to the Vernadum quadrant. I was growing quite fond of the planets there. Lovely people.” The young prince smirked, leaning back on his heels with his arms crossed. He was fully aware that his frivolous pastimes annoyed the higher-ups to no end.

“Very well, sire,” Haggar scowled under her hood.

A hologram pulled up and the long hours of debriefing began. Various topics were covered; what the Galra was preparing to go up against Voltron, their continuation of conquering planets, and all the work the druids were doing to uncover more spies. Lotor listened keenly from his seat, remembering the war strategies he was taught as a child. Yet, as more and more information came forth, he realized that the Galra could win no war against Voltron. Their robeasts always had flaws, and even Zarkon’s own was destroyed by Voltron. If they wanted to defeat the defender of the universe, they needed to take a more tactical course of action.

“Do we have any information on the individual paladins?” he interrupted the commander, who was caught of guard.

“…Yes, If only some.”

“Show me all of it,” he ordered, much to everyone’s confusion. Still, they obeyed their leader out of loyalty and fear. The paladins appeared to be intelligent life forms with a similar body structure to Galra. Not much was documented on them in writing, but video clips from security cameras told Lotor the basics.

The black paladin was the leader, as usual. Yellow was easily frightened, Green was intelligent beyond her years, and Red was the temperamental rogue. Blue, however, was the most interesting of the bunch by far. At first, Lotor didn’t focus on him in the footage, passing him off as a fool and nothing more. However, it seemed the paladin strived for attention which he rarely received. No one reciprocated his advances for praise and kindness. And while it seemed Blue was just there to joke, he could see the way it melted Yellow’s fear, brought focus to Red, gave Green an outlet to be her age, and seemed to relax Black.

Lotor smiled to himself, index finger tapping the seam of his lips. Yes, he understood now.

“Have you arrived at a conclusion, your highness?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, I think it’s time I visit an old friend of mine. I doubt Allura will mind my sudden appearance.” His childhood Altean friend could be stubborn, but he knew how to gain her trust. In their youth, they were able to put their differences aside with ease, playing out in the palace yard with other children. Perhaps she might even accept his offers of courtship now that they were aged.

“But sire, you need a plan. What are your intentions?” a druid spoke.

Lotor sighed. As much as he hated formalities, he hated being questioned even more. He rose slowly, cape dragging across the floor behind him. “I propose we infiltrate Team Voltron from the inside. It’s one of the only tactics that’s quick and effective.”

“You wish to double-cross them?”

“Essentially, yes,” he turned towards the audience of soldiers. “The paladins know not of me.They have no clue if I am a copy of my father, and if Allura remembers me, she knows that I’m not. As you’re all aware, in my youth I was temperamental,” he broke off with a wry laugh. He was a very rebellious teen before he accepted his place in the Galra Empire, always going astray and defying his father. “Yet, we can use this to our advantage. They will easily come to trust me.”

“But, even if they do, what use is it to us?”

“One paladin leaves, and the whole bunch falls down. It’s quite pathetically amusing, really. They haven’t caused any trouble since Black’s disappearance; they’ve been far too busy searching for him. They’re already weak, so they’ll be desperate for my help. If I gain their trust, I can sabotage them when they need me most.”

“I doubt it will work,” Haggar grumbled.

Lotor faced her with hair flipping behind him, glaring dangerously at the druid. “If I do not gain their trust within two months, I shall return and rule our army as my father wished. Until then, I hope my word is taken into consideration as new ruler.”

Haggar bowed out of respect. It was true that Lotor was in command, and she could not go against his wishes. He could sense her malcontent with that fact. It almost made him want to taunt her.

“But sire, once you gain their trust, how will you break them?” the druid from earlier inquired.

“I’ll just have to hit their weakest link,” Lotor smirked, staring gleefully at the projection of the blue paladin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this new rendition of Moonflower!! It was a bit hard for me to write but Lotor's dark side is interesting to mess with.


	2. Chapter 2

The paladins were all seated in the main control room of the castle ship, content after a friendly visit to the Balmera. The crystals were all thriving and it was a splendid way for the team to relax. Allura’s first mission with the team as black paladin was a success, encouraging the team to validate a primary alliance again. It wasn’t particularly eventful, but it allowed Keith to calm down a bit after Shiro’s disappearance. Lance got to flirt with some Balmeran girls, much to everyone’s dismay. Hunk was extremely pleased after seeing Shay, the two of them going off together every chance they got. Funnily enough, Allura ended up feeling sick after being offered another disgusting stew by the locals. Regardless, everyone was finding a better state of mind to search for Shiro and continue the duties of Voltron.

However, the visit was hours ago, leaving a certain paladin hungry for adventure. Lance tapped his fingers on his armrests, his leg shaking for perhaps the fifteenth time today. Leaning back in his chair with terrible posture, he groaned.

“Can you shut up for one minute, Lance?” Keith whipped around, finally snapping at Lance’s noises.

“I can’t help it! I’m so bored! We haven’t had any battles since the big one with Zarkon,” Lance defended.

Coran piped in, “Rightfully so, too. We all need lots of rest after a fight like that; so do the lions.”

“But visiting planets we’ve already been to is so boring,” Lance groaned again.

“Lance, if you’re so bored, go take a swim in the pool,” Allura said, finally fed up.

“I flipped the gravity in the room so that’s it's actually useable for us,” Pidge commented from their computer, barely paying attention. They appeared to be playing a beta version of the snake game they'd created on Altean technology, eyes following the moving pixels.

Lance stood up, newfound valour rushing through his veins. “Okay, yeah! Pool day!”

Keith groaned at Lance’s noise level, getting up himself. “I’m gonna go train.” Everyone’s eyes followed him in worry, but they knew that the red paladin preferred introversion.

Unfazed, Lance grinned, “Hey, Hunk! Wanna go swimming with me?”

“Uhh, I would, but I’m gonna help Coran fix the ship,” the yellow paladin smiled apologetically at his friend.

Lance’s smile faltered a bit, but he put on a fake one soon after. “Okay!” He walked out the doors, leaning his back against the wall right after. He let out a shaky breath, the sinking feeling taking ahold of him. Everyone was working towards finding Shiro, and here was Lance, barely contributing anything. He closed his eyes, calming down. Allura said that they needed to stay relaxed individually in order to form Voltron without any strain. Lance pushed himself off the wall and made his way to his room. There was no point in dwelling on the unknown; he was better off just going for a swim.

Once he was inside his room, he stripped out of his usual jeans and green jacket. His shirt got tossed haphazardly to the side, and on came the swimming trunks. With that, he whistled on his way to the elevator. Lance entered adorned in his blue swim trunks with a towel around his neck. The doors opened and his eyes filled with awe at the sight of crystal blue Altean water. The liquid seemed to sparkle now that Lance knew he could swim in it. He set his towel aside before running forward and cannonballing into the pool. 

“Cowabunga!” Lance shouted in delight. The cool liquid refreshed his spirit and brought his cheerful attitude back to life. Lance swam a few laps, switching between front crawl, back crawl, and breaststroke. He dipped underwater, settling on a dolphin kick as he observed the bottom. To his pleasant surprise, it seemed Altean pools grew bright, twisty corals that shone iridescently in shades of pastel. The corals glimmered like crystals, drawing a smile out of Lance from the calming beauty.

Being in the water was exceptionally soothing to Lance. The nostalgic memories of Varadero Beach whispered in the back of his mind. As much as he loved the pool, he couldn’t help but miss the ocean, for the sea had a spirit of its own that breathed with the tides. Lance came up for air with a gasp, pushing back his hair and rubbing water out of his eyes. He missed Earth. There were days when he almost forgot how far he was from home due to all that was happening. Heck, if he wasn’t surrounded by humans, he probably would’ve flown back out of sheer loneliness. It was all thanks to the other paladins that he made it this far.

Lance swam a few more laps before simply floating face up, limbs spread out like a starfish. He spaced out, mind exhausted with all that had happened recently. Eyes closed, he listened to the distorted sounds his ears echoed while submerged. That was when the alarms started blaring.

-*_+_*-

Back in the control room, red warning signs flared across the castle holograms and all the paladins were aflutter in panic.

“What’s going on?” Pidge shouted.

“It seems we have an intruder in the castle!” Coran replied, fingers working furiously across his holographic keyboard.

“But we didn’t get any warnings until they got in. How is that possible?” Pidge inquired, their fingers typing just as fast.

Keith ran in, sweat still dripping from his forehead due to his training session. His feet skidded across the floor as he came to a stop, grabbing onto Hunk for balance. “What’s happening?” he breathed.

Hunk’s teeth chattered as he answered, “Apparently, there’s an intruder, and I seriously doubt it’s the Blade of Marmora this time.”

“What?! But how did they get in?”

A smooth voice sounded from behind him, “Oh, it was easy, really. Find a ventilation shaft with broken security, two blaster shots, and you’re in.”

The team rounded with shocked faces, blanching at the slender figure leaning on the door with nonchalance.

“Hello,paladins,” Lotor smirked, uncrossing his arms and taking a step forward.

“Get out,” Keith hissed, responding to the Galran greeting with an insult that made the prince raise a brow. The red paladin then shot forward, pulling out his blade, prepared to fight the stranger. His previous exhaustion burned into adrenaline and he almost caught the enemy off guard.

“Keith, stand down!” Allura ordered, causing him to stop mid-strike.

“Princess?” he questioned, forearm pressed against Lotor’s throat.

“I know this man,” she stated, causing the paladins to stare at her in surprise. Keith’s hand fell down as Lotor leaned back against the doorway with liquid grace. A sly smirk crept onto the prince’s face while they weren’t looking. Oh, this was going to be _perfect_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED THIS CHAPTER WHOOPS


	3. Chapter 3

“Why is it that everytime I try to swim, something goes wrong in this place?” Lance exclaimed, furiously shoving his armour on overtop his swimsuit. “Like, I don’t even have time to put on clothes, and I don't think I can take everyone laughing at me again for going commando under the armour."

Lance ran out his room, pulling on his helmet and activating his bayard. He sprinted his way to the main control room where the others were. The alarms had stopped, but that in no way meant they were safe. For all he knew, his team could be depending on him to rescue them. He put the stealth techniques Shiro taught him to use, sidestepping silently towards the room. The blue paladin dropped down next to the open door, peering inside, weapon ready. One eye closed, he aimed looking through the viewfinder. What he saw shocked him to no end.

There stood Princess Allura, eyebrows raised, as a man kneeled before her, kissing her hand. He stood up, matching the princess’s height in his heels, and Lance identified him to be Galra. He wore a white bodysuit with thigh high dark purple boots overtop. His chest plate and gloves were a matching shade and they all had Galran markings on them. The armour was fit to the man’s lithe body, but it was obviously well made and could take many hits. Overtop this, he wore a white shawl that wrapped around his neck and fell into a cape behind him. ([x](http://grandefinales.tumblr.com/post/156389968773/my-take-on-the-controversial-cat-prince-i-hope))

“Princess Allura,” the stranger’s deep voice boomed, “It is an honour to reunite with you after all these years. You look well; quite lovely, if I may.”

Lance blanched, body and fuckboy attitude taking over reason. His feet ran into the room and pushed him between the princess and the Galra. “Woah, woah, woah, buddy, back off. No one talks to Princess Allura like that but me!” Lance berated.

“Actually, Lance, no one talks to me like that, period,” Allura deadpanned, tired of boys flocking her.

The Galra’s eyes widened, “Oh, is that so? Pity…” he raised a finger to his mouth and smirked, “Then, you, the pretty blue one with the perfect skin. Do you have a name?” ([x](http://inkymint.tumblr.com/post/156310917083/someone-you-cant-ship-two-characters-if-one))

Lance looked up at the Galra’s clever expression and blushed madly. “Uhh… what?”

“Woah, didn’t see that coming,” Hunk said honestly.

“I mean, it’s good he chose Lance, cause Keith would’ve actually killed him this time,” Pidge added, pushing up their glasses.

Keith’s brows furrowed, “Hey! I wasn't gonna—”

Lance’s teammates’ argument faded into the background as the prince stepped forward, his face leaning towards the human. “Well?” he pressed. Lance’s blush deepened, rushing down his neck. Those damn heels made the purple-skinned alien taller than him.

He fumbled with his gun before raising the tip to the Galra’s chin. “The name’s Lance. Paladin of Voltron; Commander of the Blue Lion.” ([x](https://artofkelseywooley.tumblr.com/post/156253233625/jumping-aboard-the-lancelot-lancelotor-hype))

“Lance…” yellow eyes blinked, “You humans have such peculiar names. I suppose mine may sound just as strange, though. I am Prince Lotor, Son of Zarkon and new leader of the Galra Empire.”

“Wait, hold up,” Lance stated firmly, gun pressing against skin, “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t shoot you right now. You’re the enemy. How did you even get on this ship?”

Lotor’s eyes sparkled with interest as he chuckled, “I do not mean you any harm. I come in peace.”

Lance glanced at Allura, lowering his weapon at the nod of her head. “Alright, but I’ve still got my eye on you.”

“Oh, believe me, the feeling’s mutual,” Lotor winked. Lance stared in shock and Pidge snorted off to the side.

“Now then,” the prince continued, “I've come to propose an alliance.” His cape swished behind him as he pivoted, regal presence commanding attention. “Princess, you have known me for centuries and I loved you for much of that time. Our fathers’ war raged on, but I always considered us to be the friends we were as children. I have no intention to continue this blood bath between our people. In fact, I want to end it. For years, I ignored the war, wanting nothing to do with my father. However, after his passing, I am his sole heir. Haggar has already contacted me. The higher-ups know I am here, but assume I am doing their bidding. I propose we sabotage the Galra Empire with myself posing as their leader. If we do not take this opportunity, the Galra will stop at nothing to destroy the universe.”

Allura stared quizzically at Lotor when he finished his grand speech, almost untrusting. “Why should I believe you?”

Lotor grinned, gesturing dramatically as he spoke “Oh Allura, you know me. Even when we were young, I always went against Zarkon and questioned him.”

Allura’s glare continued, making Lotor shuffle uncomfortably and shift his glance. Finally, she sighed, “I’ll need some time to consider your proposal.”

The prince appeared to be dejected, but nodded nonetheless. “That is understandable.”

“In the meantime, I permit you to stay in the castle, but one wrong move and you’re dead. You will also be guarded by a paladin at all times,” Allura declared, causing a frenzy of responses from the paladins.

“What?” Keith and Lance exclaimed at once. 

Lance immediately grinned at the other and exclaimed, “Jinx!” Keith gave him an unimpressed look in return, causing Lance to awkwardly scratch at the nape of his neck. Having too many siblings had caused him to develop some immature mannerisms. Even he knew now was not the time for jokes.

“My word is final. I have my own reasons to trust Lotor, even if barely.” Allura glanced between them all, “So, who would like to watch him?”

“Pidge and I have to work on the recovering the ship with Coran, so we can’t,” Hunk said immediately. Pidge nodded at their friend, silently thanking him. Lord knew they both hated socializing with new people.

Everyone turned to Lance and Keith. Keith awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “I, uh— I’ve got stuff…”

“Oh, come on, Keith! Don’t make such a shit excuse,” Lance’s brows furrowed.

Before the two could continue arguing, Lotor spoke up, “I’m quite alright with Lance watching over me.”

“Then, it’s settled!” Allura declared before Lance could get a word in. He gaped and blinked for about two ticks. By the time he snapped out of it, everyone had left the room except for Coran, who was typing away on his keyboard in the corner.

“Guys, really?!” he whined, voice echoing throughout the empty room.

Lance gave an annoyed look and sighed, glancing up at the smiling prince. “Just… don’t cause me any trouble,” he stomped out of the room.

“Why ever would I do that?” the Galra grinned, following close behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scenes in this chapter were inspired by the artwork linked throughout it. All were featured with permission from the artists.
> 
> Well, they finally met, but Lance doesn't seem to be too fond of Lotor. :')
> 
> Scream at me on my tumblr [@noir-wing](http://noir-wing.tumblr.com/)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic now has 10k hits!! Thank you!! :D

“Princess, why are you allowing Lotor to stay with us?” Keith questioned, chasing Allura down the hallway. He was bursting with questions following the major decision she had just made.

“Keith, usually you are allowed to question my motives, but I have my own personal reasons this time,” she dismissed, continuing her way.

The red paladin groaned out of frustration at that. She was treating him just as she had when she found out he was part Galra. Her brushing him off just annoyed him now. Allura was admirably headstrong, but that caused her to be closed minded at times. Of course she had secrets, but she would often share them with the rest of the team. Keith touched her shoulder, attempting to be compassionate like Shiro would, “I’m just trying to understand. He’s the enemy! Being so close, he could kill Lance for all we know.” 

Allura turned, meeting him head on with a glare. Keith winced. Okay, so the Shiro approach clearly didn't work when it came from him.

The princess sighed, closing her eyes to calm down. “I know, but, part of me still trusts him. He’s one of the only people left alive. He was one of my first friends.”

“I know,” Keith said solemnly, staring out the window.

She lay a hand over his, “Keith, I trust you and I trust the Blade. I know not all Galra are bad. Lotor was a good friend to me when we were both young. If he is the same person I once knew, he will be a brilliant addition to our team.” Her eyes shown with compassion as she whispered, “Please trust me as I have trusted you.”

Keith had to breathe for a moment, filtering through responses in search for one that would be equally as emotional. In the end, he settled on his instinctive reply, “Okay, I will.” The princess beamed at him before bidding him goodnight, walking off to her quarters. Keith nodded, but stood his ground, deep in thought.

Outside clear glass, was space in all its glory. Stars and constellations glittered throughout the black depths, and for a moment, Keith was hypnotized. With one last wistful look out the window, he turned to head off to his own room. Amongst all those stars, Shiro was still out there. Lotor be damned, Keith would find Shiro no matter what it took. He couldn’t afford a distraction.

Keith’s bedroom door slid open up in front of him before he knew it, and he was greeted with the mess that had accumulated over the past few weeks. Still, clear as day and pinned to the wall right next to his bed, was a polaroid of him and Shiro back at the Garrison. Shiro’s black hair and kind smile stood out graciously next to a moody Keith. Of course, Shiro had nudged him to smile right after, and kept the copy where they both looked happy. Where the other photo was now, Keith had no idea, but he was more concerned with where the photo’s owner was.

“I’ll find you,” he murmured, fingers grazing the gleaming surface of the photograph, “I promised.”

-*_+_*-

“And this is my room,” Lance drawled, completing his tour of the castle. He figured that would be the least boring activity they could do together, but he was sadly mistaken.

“Fascinating,” Lotor muttered, “I never saw this much of the castle when I was last here.”

Lance squinted tiredly, “Yeah, good for you. I’m going to bed.” Even he had a limit of how much he could talk to someone, especially someone he wasn’t fond of.

“Alright," Lotor replied.

Lance stretched his arms over his head and yawned as he walked into his room. Thank God that was over. The prince certainly was kind. He held doors open for Lance throughout the tour, complimented the ancient Altean architecture, and told Lance old stories about the palace. However, Lance still didn’t trust him because was unbelievably arrogant and bratty. He had never met anyone who thought so highly of themselves. Sure, Lotor hadn’t vocalized anything narcissistic, but the guy was probably cocky considering he was a prince who looked like _that_.

The blue paladin sighed, pulling off his armour so he was left only in his swimming trunks from earlier. He was about to pull those down too when he heard a low whistle from behind him.

“I don’t think I can take much more of that, _kradnia_.”

_“Coño!"_ Lance jumped and screamed, "What are you doing in here?”

The Galra chuckled and shrugged off the white shawl draping his shoulders. “I have nowhere to sleep and you are to watch me; Princess’s orders. I assumed I’d be staying here.”

The paladin’s bare chest flushed with his cheeks as he felt Lotor’s gaze on him. “Fine. You’re lucky these rooms have two beds or you’d be sleeping on the floor,” he grumbled.

“Thank you, oh great one, for allowing me the luxury of a bed,” the prince rolled his eyes sarcastically and smirked, sitting on the mattress with his legs crossed as if it were a throne.

“Spoiled brat,” Lance muttered. He pulled his pajama pants out of his dresser, grabbing a spare for the Galra as a second thought. “Put these on,” Lance tossed the pants at the prince, “And turn around while I change, okay?”

Lotor grinned, laying forward onto the bed, his lithe body stretched out with knees bent and ankles crossed. “Perverted, I may be, but only with consent. You can trust that my eyes won’t grace your body. However, I assume you’ll desire that eventually, rather than detest it.” He finished with a flirtatious wink, smile dangerously suggestive.

Lance blushed deeply, not knowing how to react. He could flirt without even blinking an eye, but no one had ever directed such remarks towards him. He had no idea what to do. Besides, Lotor was still a possible enemy. No matter how attractive he was, Lance couldn't overlook that. He trusted Allura, but realistically, it had been years since she’d seen Lotor. For all she knew, he could have been groomed into a perfect leader within that time.

Lance shook away the deep thoughts; he’d already had enough of those today. The brunette faced the wall and changed his pants, collapsing onto his bed without a second glance at the prince. All he had to do was keep an eye on Lotor, work on forming Voltron with Allura, and search for Shiro. Lance shivered at the looming presence of stress. Perhaps tomorrow morning would be better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *squints eyes* is that sheith i spot in this distance?  
>   
> Translation:  
> Coño- literally means pussy lmao but is used more as fuck or damn would be in English (for Cubans and many other Latinxs, according to multiple sources.)  
>   
> I'll explain what kradnia means later. ;)


	5. Chapter 5

_“Ako me kigi~ dezolsi reia utzusori,”_ a voice sang harmoniously, waking Lance up. His eyes fluttered and he sleepily turned to his side. Lotor was the source of the singing; his hands busy combing his hair as he sat on the bed. Lance smiled softly with tired eyes. The Galran Prince had long white hair, similar to Allura’s, but his was voluminous and wavy. Lance didn’t think many men could pull off long hair, but the prince could. The flowing locks gave him a suitable dramatic flair.

“What are you singing?” Lance’s gravelly morning voice muttered.

The prince jumped a bit, almost dropping his purple hair brush, but he quickly recovered. “Ah, it’s an old Galra love song.”

_“Galra love song?”_ Lance asked incredulously.

Lotor hummed, “My people no longer meddle in music and arts so, this is one of the last known songs. I only know it because of my grandmother, and even in her time, most of the lyrics were lost. The few lines I know are beautiful, though.” 

“What do they mean?” Lance asked, stretching his arms as he sat up.

Lotor shook his head with a shy laugh, “I promised myself that I’d only tell another if I ever experienced the emotions the words convey.”

Lance raised a brow at the prince’s words. He wasn’t aware that Galra felt any desire to love, so hearing Lotor talk about such a thing was… odd, needless to say. “Okay… uh, let’s go get breakfast,” he rose out of bed, hoping to replace the awkward tension in the air with just about anything else.

“Alright,” Lotor replied. He wrapped his shawl around his shoulders, keeping Lance’s black lounge pants on underneath. It was an awful attempt to cover up, as Lance could still see the alien’s purple skin. Galra bodies, it seemed, were fairly human, as displayed by the prince’s abs and sharp hip bones. Lotor's sinewy stature, however, was something Lance had never seen in any other Galra, and it fascinated him to no end. As much as he tried to pull his eyes away, they were only dragged back in. Lance did _not_ stare as he pulled on his own shirt.

The two walked in silence to the dining room, neither having conversation topics for each other. Lance nearly had a heart attack when Lotor’s shawl caught on the corner of a table, the fabric falling off his body and leaving his long torso naked. Fuck. If this guy was human, he’d replace Adonis as the icon for male beauty. Lance cursed himself, knowing that even the purple skin didn’t throw him off from admiring those muscles. Lotor seemed unfazed though, bending over and picking up the shawl with ease. He tossed his white hair back and wrapped the cloth around himself again before proceeding forward. It was like the guy wasn’t even aware of how hot he was. Lance glared at the prince’s back. _What an arrogant brat._

When they reached the dining room, everyone was already there eating. Thankfully, the food was still warm. Hunk’s endeavours at the space mall proved that there was more food than just green goo in space. This led to all the paladins ignoring Allura for an entire day, until she finally gave in and bought them some real food. It was a small expense, but totally worth it.

Lance’s stomach growled at the smell of bacon and eggs. Sure, the bacon was from some animal they’d never seen and the eggs were a pale blue, but food was food. He licked his lips and pulled up a seat, piling food into his plate.

“Morning, Lance,” Hunk greeted with a smiled.

“Goo mornningu,” Lance managed to say with his mouth stuffed.

Lotor glanced at the brunette’s terrible table manners awkwardly, grabbing cutlery and filling his own plate. He avoided eye contact with the paladins as he grasped food with tongs, occasionally adjusting his shawl. More recently, he’d become accustomed to his food being brought to him, but he wasn’t by any means against the self-serve system. After all, he was far from the royal brat everyone thought him to be. He sat down, placing a napkin on his lap, and cut away at the eggs. His first morning with Team Voltron was looking to be quite peaceful, until—

“Keith, that last piece of toast was mine!” Lance yelled, wielding his fork as a weapon.

“I grabbed it first. _Jahngnan haanyah?”_ the Korean cursed back.

“What did you say?,” Lance hollered, grabbing Keith’s collar, “ _No te metas conmigo._ ”

Allura’s cutlery slammed down on her plate as she yelled, “Will you two stop fighting?!” Lance and Keith stared wide eyed at the princess before guiltily turning away from one another. The princess sighed, turning to continue her conversation with Coran and Pidge.

Lotor was startled, staring wide eyed at the dispute as he admired Allura’s ability to command the paladins. He glanced down at the two pieces of toast in his plate, silently spearing one with his fork and placing it in Lance’s plate. The blue paladin didn’t thank him, but ate the toast nonetheless. As conversation rose again, Lotor leaned closer to Lance and whispered, “For what it’s worth, I’m with you. You were already reaching for the food when he grabbed it.”

Lance gave the Galra a bizarre look. He had actually taken Lance’s side. No one ever took the blue paladin seriously. Keith was a hothead, sure, but because of his calm demeanour in battle, everyone considered him to be mature. Lance, on the other hand, liked making jokes and having fun during missions. Thus, no one ever took his side in an argument. It was always him who was considered to be childish. Having someone agree with him for once was… nice. Maybe Lotor wasn’t so bad.

Lance smiled cutely, his eyes crinkling, “Thank you,” he whispered back.

Lotor blushed, not knowing how to react to the sudden display of beauty and kindness. Galra had small scales across their cheekbones; a purple slightly darker than their skin, resembling freckles. When they blushed, their scales would flutter like butterfly wings. Lotor awkwardly shifted at the feeling, as it had been far too long since he’d last been embarrassed or flustered.

Lance titled his head, noticing blurry movement on the prince’s face. The prince turned away from him, white hair hiding his face like a veil. Lance shrugged off his confusion, assuming that whatever was happening to Lotor was normal for Galra. He had learned early on in space that some aliens were sensitive about certain things, and it was better to not mention them.

The two munched on toast, shying away from one another. They settled on eating and avoiding eye contact for the rest of breakfast. Unlike earlier, they were now bursting with questions, curiosity arguably a gift both their species possessed. However, Lance and Lotor were far too flustered to even look at each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shirtless lotor ayyye
> 
> Translations:  
> 장난하냐? Jahngnan haanyah? (Are you kidding me?)  
> No te metas conmigo. (Don’t mess with me.)
> 
> All my translations are done by native speakers so they should be correct, but let me know if anything seems off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i haven't updated in a month :( i've been working on a lot of WIPs for zines and such, plus i had writer's block for a bit

Following breakfast and a quick change of clothes, the prince and the blue paladin ended up at the training deck. With Lotor’s shawl tossed aside in Lance’s room, their outfits now consisted of black tank tops and sweat pants. Lance was expected to keep up with training, regardless of how Lotor’s presence might hinder his performance. He ran two laps around the room as Lotor watched, pupils analyzing the training facilities used by the paladins.

Lance grabbed his water bottle from a shelf next to the Galra, taking a long drink as Lotor raised a white eyebrow at him.

“So, who would be the best fighter on your team, in terms of hand-to-hand combat?” he asked, softening his tone in an attempt to come off as casual.

Lance wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, “Well, Shiro’s incredible since he’s had the most practice, and he’s got that wicked Galra arm.”

Lotor's brows furrowed, “It’s not wicked; it just has magical and technological properties.”

Lance’s eyes widened before he snickered, “No, dude, it’s just human slang. You know? Wicked? Sick? They’re good things.”

Lotor tilted his head, “… I fail to understand.”

“Gosh, you’re worse than Keith,” Lance muttered, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. “Okay, Nevermind then. Point being, Shiro’s a great fighter, and then Keith and me are pretty much tied in second place.”

“Hmmm,” Lotor regarded the blue paladin, “I honestly doubt that. Muscles speak for themselves, and the red paladin has also shown to be far more superior in terms of skill.”

“Hey! I could beat Keith if I wanted to.”

Lotor smirked, “You seem sure about that.”

“Well, I don’t like to show off, but see these babies?” Lance flexed his biceps, “Yeah. Keith doesn’t have these. I’m way stronger.”

“They are… quite impressive,” the prince replied with a knowing smile. He stretched his arm out and flexed, challenging Lance, “I do, however, outrank you, _kradnia_.”

Lance grinned internally, the heat of competition taking over, but played along with his tough guy front, “Oh yeah, well let’s test that right now!” As a second thought he added, “And don’t swear at me in Galra.”

“Oh, it wasn’t an insult. If you were to translate it into your tongue… I suppose the word would be: _darling,”_ Lotor said with a lavish wink.

Lance paused, letting the words sink in, before blushing madly. Wait… was Lotor _flirting_ with him?! The same behaviour was shown last night, but Lance had pushed it aside as an egoistic quip. He gave the prince a bewildered look, before taking in Lotor’s satisfied smirk. _Oh,_ he was totally just messing with Lance. The brunette’s eyebrows furrowed, and he let out a huff, grabbing Lotor by his shirt. Their faces were mere inches away.

“You wanna go toe-to-toe with me pretty boy?”

Lotor’s smirk just annoyed Lance more. “Go for it. I’ll give you the first shot.” [(x)](http://erinyanko.tumblr.com/post/159940574821/you-wanna-go-toe-to-toe-with-my-pretty-boy-go)

“Alright, tough guy, let’s see what you’re made of,” Lance cracked his knuckles, walking to the centre of the room.

Lotor’s smug look remained on his face as he followed Lance. Within moments, a holographic arena formed around them, the two equally matched with just their fists. If the prince was strong, then Lance was agile. The blue paladin could quickly maneuver away from attacks, but he lacked to momentum to deal his own. Lotor’s eyes widened at Lance’s fighting style, analyzing his movements. Lance’s technique of jumping away from attacks and using his flexibility was quite unique, catching Lotor off guard occasionally. Lotor went on the defensive as he observed the blue paladin’s fighting patterns, planning to watch for a few minutes and then strike.

Lance, however, was growing impatient. It seemed as if Lotor was going easy on him. Lance’s huffed out a breath, wiping the sweat from his furrowed brows. Maybe Lotor was just trying to tire him out. Lance avoided a punch, strategizing. He wanted to see the annoying douche get beaten, not help him win. Lotor had already bruised Lance a couple of times, albeit not heavily. Lance’s fists clenched as he executed a roundhouse kick, perseverance taking over him. 

The Galra looked up at Lance in shock as a strong kick hit high thigh and sent him stumbling. He prevented himself from falling with a quick jump before charging full force into his attack. Lotor pushed up against Lance with his elbow so his balance dislodged. Though swift, he had gathered that the paladin lacked finesse. While Lance was distracted catching his footing, Lotor kicked the blue paladin’s feet from under him and stepped on his chest, pinning his arms above him and leaning down.

Lotor flipped his hair aside, white strands tumbling down to brush against Lance’s neck. “Do you surrender?” he grinned, forearm pressed against Lance’s throat. As Lance looked into Lotor’s eyes, he picked up on shades of indigo, deep as the night sky. In that moment, he knew he had already lost from the beginning. Against such a beautiful creature possessing innumerable power, he was hopeless.

He heavily before letting out a low chuckle, “Okay, you win.”

“Of course I won. I’ve been trained to fight since I was born,” Lotor said cockily, helping Lance up.

Lance crouched over his knees, exhausted. He didn’t even breathe this heavily after walking up a flight of stairs. Lotor was a damn good fighter, apparently. The prince looked like he had just gone for a walk in the park; not a bead of sweat in sight. Meanwhile, Lance looked like he had a case of the Slipperies. Fitting, considering he was still internally drooling at how brilliant Lotor fought. The prince positioned over Lance, victorious smirk present, was possibly the hottest thing Lance had ever seen.

“Well, _kradnia,_ that was an engaging fight. I must say that your flexibility and agile nature are impressive, but I especially enjoyed you swooning over me,” Lotor smirked, arms crossed and posture relaxed.

Lance stuttered, “Uhm— I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, don’t be like that, _civana._ You know very well what you did.”

Lance walked out the room, shaking his head, “Nope, don’t remember, didn’t happen.”

“We had a bonding moment!” the Galra said in disbelief with his arms out.

“Yeah, Keith says the same thing all the time. You know, you two have a lot in common,” the Latino teased.

“Oh, don’t bunch me together with him,” Lotor hissed, trailing behind the other. He wasn’t fond of the red paladin, who tried to kill him on sight and was clearly suspicious of his actions. The blue paladin, however, was proving to be quite the entertainer to occupy Lotor’s time amongst Team Voltron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the quote for the art in there is from Legend of Korra, but it works super well for these two :3
> 
> I am making up the Galra language, but it derives from words I know in existing languages. I'll add word origins in the notes as Lance discovers their meanings. Feel free to use these words in your own fics, but give credit and let me know.
> 
> Galra Translations:  
> Kradnia (Darling)  
> Origin: Красавица [kra-SA-vee-tsa] or Красотуля [kra-sa-TOO-lya], both Russian words for beauty.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this fic finally back? For now it is lmfao
> 
> I made some minor edits FYI, so the rewritten first chapter has been scrapped. No more OOC Galra Keith. Yay!  
> I'm trying to make this fic feel more canon, so that's why it's been changed a lot. I know it makes it hard to read, and I apologize. I personally just recommend that you bookmark this and wait until it's finished to read it. Thank you for putting up with me! This fic isn't really deserving of the attention it's gotten and I'm happy there's still some people who have stuck around even with all the breaks I take.

Lance was helping Pidge with moving things in the castle-ship, as Allura watched over Lotor in his place. The Altean glanced warily at the prince every few seconds, still cautious around him.

“Sooo… how have the past few years treated you?” Lotor asked casually, attempting to make small talk.

Allura sighed, “Lotor, it’s been 10,000 years. Few is an understatement.”

“Right, right.” He turned to continue watching Lance as the princess typed away.

She was coding some things for the castle that required her essence as access. However, she could not remember the current code she was working on and she didn’t want to leave the prince alone. With a glance at Lotor, she sighed, hurrying over to Coran to ask him about the coding of the particle barrier. On her way back, she heard a wolf whistle. Looking up in shock at Lotor, she heard him say, “What more could I ask for? Beautiful brown skin, piercing blue eyes…”

Allura's brows furrowed as she responded, “Flattering, but—”

The Galra looked at her dead on with an expression of disgust, “Not you. Long legged blue in the back.” ([x](http://arrowsprout.tumblr.com/post/156284145566/im-loving-all-the-headcanons-abt-lotor-hitting-on))

The princess glanced behind her to see none other than… “Lance?!”

“Precisely. He is the pinnacle of beauty,” Lotor muttered, stroking his chin.

“Wait. You like… Lance?” Allura struggled to process.

The Galra’s yellow eyes flickered up at her and leaned his elbow on a railing, cheek falling in his hand. “Is that so hard to believe, _princess?”_ he teasingly hissed.

“No! I mean, you two have a lot in common! You both enjoy flirting with me and uh—”

Lance leaned his back against the railing Lotor was propped up against, interrupting their conversation. He took a gulp of water from a bottle, wiping the excess liquid from his mouth with the back of his hand. “So, what was that whistle I heard? You and Allura, huh?”

All of Lotor’s attention was immediately directed towards the paladin. “Actually, _civana_ , that was for you,” he took Lance’s hand, “Your armour really brings out your beautiful eyes.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Please, mine have nothing on yours. Your eyes glow in the dark like stars.” He brushed some brown hair out of his face, only to see the Galra’s cheeks doing that weird blurring thing again. “What?”

“Thank you. That was a kind compliment,” the prince said, avoiding eye contact.

“Er… it wasn’t a—” Lance cut himself off, not wanting to be rude. “Anytime, dude!” he exclaimed instead.

Prince Lotor stepped to Lance’s right, pushed his shawl aside as he moved. “If you’re done here, would you like to accompany me to lunch?”

“Yeah… I guess,” Lance chuckled nervously, “I am pretty hungry.”

The two walked away, leaving Allura to gape. Of all people to become friends, Lance and Lotor?!

“Hey, what does _civana_ mean? That’s the second time you’ve said it to me,” Lance asked on their way out.

Lotor hummed, eyeing the castle around them. “Well, I’m not sure how you would say it in your tongue, but _‘ci'_ means sweet and ‘ _vana'_ means crazy, but in a positive sense. It’s used to convey an emotion of utmost sweetness towards someone, I suppose.”

“So like… sweetheart?”

“Oh, is that what humans say? Hmmm… in Galra, sweetheart would directly translate to _ciyara._ ‘ _Yara'_ means heart. It sounds a bit too much like _ziyara_ , though, which is probably why it’s not a word that’s used,” he continued, voice almost idle.

“And _ziyara_ is…?”

“Oh! It means love,” Lotor grinned, winking at the paladin.

Lance flushed as they exited the room, the two of them in their own world. Allura and Coran felt like they were miles away from them.

“Well, I didn’t expect that,” Coran spoke up from the back of the room as the door closed.

“Honestly, if they got together, I’d be quite relieved because it’d get both of them off my back,” the princess sighed. “Still… Lotor was never that open towards others, unless he wanted something. Coran, I get the feeling that somethings going on.”

“Well, what should we do, princess?”

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I think we should just wait it out, but I will be keeping an eye on him.”

“Allura!” Hunk exclaimed, running into the room.

“What is it, Hunk?”

“It’s Keith. See, I was gonna ask him if he wanted to bake some scaultrite cookies with me, so I went to his room to last night to ask. He didn’t answer, which is fine, it’s cool, I respect his personal space. But I went there again this morning, and he’s gone!”

“What?” Allura’s voice pitched. “Are you sure? He might just be in the training room or sleeping somewhere quiet again.”

“Hooo no, I’m positive! I checked the entire training deck twice, got Pidge to scan the castle’s cameras, and I even went into his room! It’s like he’s disappeared! On top of that, there’s an escape pod missing,” Hunk added after his outburst, as if it was less important information.

“He’s somewhere out there, then. I’ll check his coordinates,” Coran said, fingers ready to tap away at his keyboard.

“No, don’t.” Allura’s word held him in place. “I think I know where he might be, and this wouldn’t be the first time he ran off.”

“Great!” Hunk perked up. “Bring him back, then. We can’t form Voltron without Keith.”

“I’m not sure it’s that simple. If Keith’s where I think he is, we’ll have to go get him ourselves.”

“Alright, so field trip. Where to? Please tell me there’s gonna be some new spices, cause we’re running low.”

“Probably not, Hunk,” Allura replied, occupied with pulling up a communication connection.

Kolivan answered immediately. “Princess, do you require assistance?”

“No, but I was wondering if Keith was with you again?”

“I have not seen him as of late, but I will inform you if he does arrive.”

“Thank you, Kolivan.”

“Of course,” the Galra replied with a firm nod.

Allura let out a deep sigh when the connection ended. Why did Shiro think Keith could lead Voltron when he was such a rogue? The red paladin only looked out for himself, and he’d been running off to train with the Blade or look for Shiro for quite some time now. He was erratic, raw, and unrefined. So, what made him seem like a good leader? What had Shiro seen in Keith that Allura couldn’t find?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Galra Translations:  
> Civana (sweetheart)  
> Origin: (diwana/diwani (m/f) positively crazy in Hindi// ciccino/ciccina (m/f) sweety in Italian)
> 
> thank you for reading!
> 
> update: i will either be deleting or rewriting again. rewrite will have major differences this time.


End file.
